Smile Like Stardust
by Amelia Prose
Summary: This was all unimaginable a year ago. Tauriel reflects on her time in Erebor and later has a discussion with Fili.


Tauriel paced slowly in front of the target. She was done shooting for the day but she still lingered in the fields, enjoying the fading warmth of the sunlight. The itch in her fingers had abated as she plucked bow and released arrow after arrow into the straw targets. Being in Erebor, while it fascinated her and fed her curiosity, the lack of open sky gnawed at her making it difficult to be under the stone at too long of periods of time.

Tauriel frowned. In the months during her attempted fading, she had forsaken the light for the cool darkness of her room. She had draped her window in heavy fabrics that denied any sun. Fading took time. It was not a sudden event, but a slow progression into a deep despondency. First came the denial of sunlight and though she continued to eat, her meals were small, flavorless, unsatisfying. She stopped her archery and rescinded her position as Captain of the Guard. Though, Thranduil denied her that last request as an attempt to thwart her decision.

Still, a month into her fade she stopped her duties, her thoughts consumed by a dark-haired dwarf with a smile that lit her cheeks and the tips of her ears. It was months, or could have been years for all she knew locked away in her grief, before Legolas visited her one evening, whispering for her to hold on longer, that in just a short time her heart's desire would be given to her. A bowl of food, hearty and warm, was set in front of her and her friend promised Tauriel that if she ate, all would be well. She didn't know what compelled her to grant Legolas his wish, but she would always love her friend for never giving her up. Fading for such a short period of time made physical recovery a simple matter. It was her spirit that was slow to heal, a fact that kept her in a daze the entire trip to Erebor. They could have been marching her straight over a cliff and she would not have known…

Tauriel roused herself from her bleak thoughts. She was happy now.

She did not fight the smile that graced her lips as she thought of her love, Kili. He had wanted to join her out in the field, but she feared one more public display of their affection for one another in front of his uncle or any of the other dwarves would have them both kicked out from underneath the mountain. She had told him to go with his brother to inspect some mine shafts so that she could practice with her bow and arrows.

"A few moments away will make our reunion all the sweeter," she had said to him with a loving smirk.

He had grumbled something about not being gone too long as Fili hauled him away deeper into the mountain.

Two weeks. She had been in Erebor for two weeks. In those moments after she and Kili had reunited, Tauriel's entire world shifted and she knew that she would not be returning to Mirkwood to live there ever again, at least not without her prince. Also in those moments, Tauriel had promised her beloved with a fierceness that shook her being that she would do bodily harm to anyone who tried to keep them apart ever again. But she soon came to realize the challenge was not in staying with Kili, but with finding her place by his side within the larger mechanism of Erebor.

Life under the mountain was not easy. No one knew what to do with her. At first, Thorin placed her in the markets, checking stalls and licenses. That lasted for the ten minutes it took Tauriel to argue that she knew nothing of commerce or trade. For a few days she worked in the infirmary, but the ailments there were small and didn't need any serious medicinal remedies besides the common draughts and bandages. She was bored senseless. Finally Tauriel recommended that she herself assist in the preparation of Thorin's guard. At first, many a dwarf was upset to be taking orders from an outsider, an elf at that. But Tauriel stayed steady and proved an invaluable expert in tactics and weaponry. Though she was still looked upon with suspicion, at least the whispers had stopped whenever she vacated the area.

_Someone should remind those dwarves that elves have excellent hearing,_ Tauriel thought with a chuckle. She gathered her things and headed back to the stone kingdom to prepare for dinner.

Despite a few bumps and misunderstandings, Tauriel also recognized a few new things about herself. She laughed more easily in the presence of the dwarves as opposed to her stoic demeanor amongst her own brethren. In the past, she relied on her warrior instincts to work out difficult situations, but now that she was an ambassador of sorts between Erebor, Dale, and Mirwood, she began to notice her political proficiency was expanding as well. Even Thorin listened when she spoke on the moods of elves or the most effective way to voice a treaty to gain favor within her race. There was a steep learning curve, but she found herself exhilarated and challenged in ways she never thought imaginable a year ago.

Considering all things, she was content and so excited for life with Kili amongst the strange customs of dwarves. She wouldn't have it any other way.

/

Kili's note sat on the bed as Tauriel finished dressing for dinner. After her practice, she had hoped to find her dwarf prince, but he was pulled into another meeting with his brother and uncle before she could speak with him again. He wrote to her letting her know that he would escort her to dinner, if she was agreeable. She had to roll her eyes at that. Ever since she had taken residence in his home, he insisted on courting her.

_"I know we are already promised to each other, but I want to…" Here he had hesitated._

_Tauriel waited on him patiently. "You can tell me anything, Kili." They were in his apartments, alone. As a rule whenever they met, they avoided the sleeping area and kept their conversations to just his sitting rooms. Tauriel was perched on a low cushion and Kili was standing between her legs, her long dress preventing his position from being improper. This put Kili a bit taller, which she loved because it allowed her to kiss him quite easily. Her hands held his and she marveled at the stocky fingers dusted in dark hair._

_"I want to spoil you." He sighed heavily and rested his brow against hers. "I know you care little for shiny jewels and soft gowns," he murmured as he pulled back to gaze into her eyes._

_"But it makes my heart happy to see you in finery that I have gifted you. I want to woo you as well. You have known Kili, the prisoner. Kili, the wounded. But you have yet to see Kili, Son of Durin, and Heir to the Throne of Erebor. Would you let me show you this side of me?"_

_At this, Tauriel leaned forward and pressed a firm kiss to his lips. She lingered a little over his mouth, letting their breaths blur as one for a bit. She loved him. Without a doubt, with all of her being, she loved him._

_"Yes, I will allow you to show me. As long as Kili, the reckless makes an appearance soon so that he may take me on my first cart ride through the mineshafts." Her low laughter echoed and mingled with his deeper baritone and she let him pull her close again for a deeper kiss._  
>⁄<p>

/

A knock at her door pulled the elf maiden from her happy reverie and she glided across the room a second later to let Kili in. Except it wasn't him who greeted her on the other side but his brother, Fili.

"Fili, at your service." The young prince greeted Tauriel with a wide grin and a low bow.

"You are the wrong brother," Tauriel smiled gently at the blonde's antics. Fili's face fell in mock hurt.

"Well, Lady Tauriel, you are stuck with me. Kili's business in the markets ran over a bit and he was rushed for time to wash and dress for this evening's meal. He asked if I would escort you to dinner. Didn't want his elf wandering the halls alone."

"Well, yes, Master Fili. Someone must protect these unsuspecting dwarves from my charms."

Fili's snort echoed through the long dark hall.

They walked slowly, each enjoying the company of the other, even though they hadn't said much since their initial light banter. In the two weeks that Tauriel had been in Erebor, Fili had become her fastest friend. He was never too busy to explain dwarven wedding ceremonies or the proper way to show respects to ancestors by tipping your wine class to the eldest at the table before the start of each meal. He even inspected her room's rock formation to ensure that the various skylights installed in her ceiling would not impact the integrity of the rock that supported it. He was her savior and better yet, a brother. Tauriel valued their time together.

Fili spoke first, in a low solemn voice: "I have not thanked you properly for saving my brother."

Tauriel was astonished. "Master Fili, you owe me no thanks. And besides, it is I who owe you my gratitude, for I believe it was you who convinced your uncle to reunite the two of us again. So I will also thank you for saving your brother's life as well as my own."

Fili, forever the prince, stopped their stroll and placed a light kiss to Tauriel's knuckles. It was chaste and courtly and filled with his utter appreciation.

"I don't just mean your return to Erebor. I mean everything: The orc arrow, you got him to safety during Smaug's attack, and countless other acts of protectiveness during the Battle."

"I did it because I love him and I know our worlds, both yours and mine would be dimmer without Kili in it. I really do not need thanks for doing that." Tauriel was suddenly shy. She loved Kili simply because she could, not because she expected anything in return.

"Then let's agree to disagree, for I will spend the rest of my days telling anyone who will listen that Tauriel of Mirkwood rescued my brother not only from many physical harms, but from the perils of a broken heart."

Tauriel was moved by his flowery words to action. She bent at the waist and placed a kiss to his forehead. She knew, that in his own way, Fili was committing to defend the strange union between dwarf and elf against anyone who raised an objection to it.

She straightened and held his hands between her own. "You Durin Folk have a way with poetry. Why, just last evening Kili likened my hair to fiery molten as it pours from the kilns."

Clearly smitten with the elf, Fili's lopsided grin answered her kiss. Then he rolled his eyes once he realized what she said. "Well, that was trite. I thought I taught him better than that…"

"Oh really?" Tauriel teased. "For you to have taught him, I want to know who were the poor unsuspecting lasses you both practiced your charms on?"

Fili's eyes widened as he caught his mistake. "Lady Tauriel, it was only once in a pub right before we left Ered Luin…Uncle thought it would be good for us to… It was complete a disaster." His voice faded off as the elf laughed.

They were nearing the dinner hall. She placed her hand in the crook of his elbow as they drew closer.

"Master Fili," her voice easy and full of mirth, "I must thank you again. Though _this_ thanks is for the realization that I now know for whom I can count on to divulge embarrassing details from Kili's life before the Quest." _Who he was before I got to know him._

Fili face planted into his palm. "By Mahal, what can I bribe you with so we keep this conversation to ourselves so that the light of day, nor Kili, will never hear of it again?"

The redheaded maven winked at him and shook her head no, her mane of hair whipping Fili softly in the face. He smiled as he got a whiff of lavender oil. "I will let the matter drop, but only after you tell me the story of the missing ponies and how that led to the company being captured by trolls."

Fili sighed overly dramatic as if he was really being put upon. "Fine, maiden!" And looking at Tauriel sideways he added, "I'll tell you both stories, but keep in mind my version will differ vastly from Kili's. He likes to exaggerate his involvement."

"You mean as the cause of all your problems." Tauriel outright laughed at her exaggerated statement and in that moment, conversing outside the dining hall, the lights from within casting a lush gold glow over her fair face and bare shoulders, Fili understood a little better how Kili could give his tender heart to the elf-maiden.

Fili chuckled then bent over and slapped his knee as a full-bodied laugh joined Tauriel's. "You know Kili—he fancies himself the hero in every adventure, no matter the outcome, no matter if he is the one being rescued!"

Tauriel had a moment to stop and wonder if it was a little cruel giggling at the expense of her beloved, but one look at Fili and they were at it again, laughing uncontrollable.

When they finally did enter the dinner hall everyone, Kili included, was already seated. The two did a miserable job of composing themselves and as soon as they were seated—Tauriel next to her black haired prince and Fili across the table from them—a split second eye contact was all it was needed before they were chortling again. Kili had no idea what was so funny, but he was happy to see the easy commodore between the two he loved most in the world.


End file.
